Process for sweetening hydrocarbons with alkali hypochlorites, alkali hydroxides and alkali mercaptides

Claim 1

A PROCESS OF DESULFURIZING A MERCAPTAN-CONTAINING HYDROCARBON OIL DISTILLATE COMPRISING THE STEPS: (1) SPLITTING THE DISTILLATE INTO A FIRST PART AND A SECOND PART OF LIKE COMPOSITIONS, THE SECOND PART BEING FROM 10 TO 100% OF THE FIRST PART; (2) CONTACTING THE FIRST PART WITH AN AQUEOUS HYPOCHLORITE SOLUTION HAVING A PH OF FROM ABOUT 8.2 TO ABOUT 8.5 IN AN AMOUNT IN EXCESS OF THE STOICHIOMETRIC AMOUNT FOR THE OXIDATION OFTHE MERCAPTANS THEREIN TO DISULFIDES; (3) SEPARATING THE RESULTING HYPOCHLORITE-TREATED FIRST PART; (4) INTIMATELY CONTACTING THE HYHYDROXIDE SOLUTION; (4) SEPARATING THE RESULTING HYPOCHLORITE-TREATED AND CAUSTIC-WASHED FIRST PART; (5) MIXING THE HYPOCHLORITE-TREATED AND CAUSTIC-WASHED FIRST PART WITH THE SECOND PART STILL CONTAINING MERCAPTANS; (6) CONTACTING THE RESULTING MIXED TREATED AND UNTREATED DISTILLATE WITH AN AQUEOUS ALKALI METAL HYDROXIDE SOLUTION; AND (7) SEPARATING A DOCTOR-SWEET HYDROCARBON OIL DISTILLATE PRODUCT OF REDUCED SULFUR CONTENT.